AFTER READING SCRIPT FOR ‘42,’ FORD LOBBIED FOR ROLE OF RICKEY

Actor isn’t a huge baseball fan, but he knew he could play barrier-breaking GM

Indiana Jones, Han Solo in “Star Wars” — but not so much when it comes to flesh-and-blood historical figures.

In the new film “42,” however, Ford and co-star Chadwick Boseman play real people who did, in fact, become cultural icons for a very good reason — they changed the country.

Boseman plays Jackie Robinson, the complicated ballplayer who made history when he became the first African-American to play in major league baseball. And Ford plays Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who plucked Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs, one of the stalwart teams of the Negro Leagues.

The title, “42,” refers to Robinson’s jersey number on the Dodgers, the only number retired throughout major league baseball.

Robinson just wanted to play baseball. And he wanted to win. But by signing with Rickey he volunteered to endure torrents of racist verbal abuse as well as physical threats without fighting back. His job was to play, to win — and to stay cool. He was leading the way for other black players, and he had to be a role model. The film depicts how Robinson and Rickey worked together to make that a reality.

Ford said he really didn’t know much about baseball when he agreed to play Rickey — a part he had to lobby for — but he knew a great role when he saw one on paper.

“No, I wasn’t a baseball player, and I don’t really know much about baseball, to tell you the truth,” Ford said. “I learned, but I was never much of a sports fan.”

Ford knew he could play the gruff, cigar-chewing, churchgoing Rickey. He employed extra padding and prosthetics to transform his appearance, although Ford’s trademark crooked smile is still there. But he had to convince writer/director Brian Helgeland that he was the right actor for the part.

“Somebody told me there was a real good script around, and I got hold of the script,” Ford said. “The director was not anxious to see me because I hadn’t been playing character parts lately, and I don’t blame him at all. … I think Brian was afraid if Harrison Ford showed up in his movie, it would unhinge the whole process. And by that, I mean the recognizable Harrison Ford that he was used to.”

While Ford is a major star, he essentially became part of an ensemble. He said he read extensively about Rickey as he prepared for the role.

“First of all, I wanted to know my character as well as I could,” Ford said. “I wanted to know what he looked like, what he moved like, how he spoke. There was quite a bit written about Branch Rickey. … You don’t play an icon. You play the real guy.

“He grew up in rural Ohio, and I know what his early history was. I know he was a deeply religious guy, that he was a schoolteacher at 17, that he was a lay preacher. He never went to games on Sunday. You know, that’s what you play.”

The film, which opens across the nation on Friday, depicts Rickey’s motivation to break the color line in baseball as a mix of moral and commercial instincts.

“You know, you play a guy that is a businessman and his business is baseball,” Ford said. “He wants the best team that he can get. He wants access to the pool of talent that’s in the Negro Leagues, and he’s got the authority of the board of directors to go ahead. And he needs a partner. He finds a partner in Jackie Robinson.”